FNB has introduced cryptocurrency investing through its existing share-trading platform.
The VALR partnership brings the service within reach of nearly nine million retail customers.
Customers can trade five digital assets, including Bitcoin, investment offerings, giving customers a route into the market through an institution they already use for everyday financial services.
Its initial selection includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and USDT, a stablecoin designed to track the US dollar. Trading is available around the clock.
According to Moneyweb’s report on the launch, the service will operate across FNB’s existing share-investing products. The nearly nine million figure describes the bank’s retail customer base, rather than the number who have already started trading crypto.
Bitcoin inside the banking app
FNB’s own investment website now advertises the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency through its app, alongside its share-trading and other investment products.
Customers can access another asset class through a familiar interface, while FNB gains an additional reason for them to keep their investment activity within its banking platform.
However, the service has an important restriction: cryptocurrency cannot be transferred into or out of the FNB system.
That makes the offering different from an exchange account that permits customers to move assets to a personal wallet or another trading platform. It provides investment exposure within the bank’s environment, rather than unrestricted use of the coins.
“Crypto assets cannot be transferred in or out,” FNB said in its announcement, carried by BusinessTech.
Bheki Mkhize, chief executive of FNB Wealth and Asset Management, said: “We have observed a lot of activity and interest from our clients around crypto.”
Banks compete for digital-asset customers
FNB joins a growing group of South African banks incorporating digital assets into their services.
Discovery Bank introduced cryptocurrency trading through a partnership with Luno in December 2025. Its integration allows customers to link their Luno accounts to the banking app.
Other banks are pursuing different parts of the market. Absa’s partnership with Ripple focuses on institutional custody, while Nedbank’s agreement with Crypto.com concerns blockchain-based payments, settlement and liquidity solutions, subject to regulatory requirements.
These approaches reveal a broader commercial shift: banks are seeking roles in trading, safekeeping and moving digital assets, while specialist exchanges provide infrastructure and expertise.
For VALR, the FNB relationship creates a distribution route through a large established bank. For FNB, it adds crypto exposure without requiring customers to leave its investment platform.
Regulation changes the market
South Africa’s licensing framework has helped create a clearer environment for these partnerships.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority began accepting applications from crypto-asset service providers in June 2023. Its authorisation covers financial services associated with crypto assets, including advice and intermediary services.
The regulator has explicitly distinguished that supervision from recognising cryptocurrency as legal tender. A licensed provider therefore operates within a regulatory framework, but licensing does not remove price volatility or guarantee an investment’s value.
FNB’s entry expands access through mainstream banking. Whether that access translates into substantial demand will depend on customer uptake, pricing and how investors assess an asset class that can move sharply in either direction.
